NCASE M1: a crowdfunded Mini-ITX case (updates in first post)

The headphone/speaker connector, some people have reported that it's a tight fit and they didn't have the audio jack plugged in all the way.
 
Oh alright. Will try this tonight. I did notice my Ncase V1 and V2 have this same issue and i'm using 2 different motherboards.

Btw, did they change the power button light to red? I didn't notice the change in the improvement thread but my new V2 has a different color light.
 
System built. Smoothest build I've done. Cable management was a pain in the ass though.
I have 1 Corsair SP120 PWM fan barely breathing on my NH-C14. Can't hear it at all. SX-600G behaving very well so far. No wierd noises. Haven't load tested anything yet.
I'll post some pics, temps, etc once i get around to playing with the setup later this week. I love this thing:D
 
Hanakuso said:
Btw, did they change the power button light to red? I didn't notice the change in the improvement thread but my new V2 has a different color light.
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It means you've got the harddisk led plugged into the power led and vice-versa :)
 
whodie said:
It's water cooled so the massive heatsink/fan won't be an issue....guess the only way to fidn out is to try it....
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To confirm....PowerColor 7990 (Devil 13) with EK water block does not fit.....

The barbs extend outside of the case :p sooooo time for a GTX 970
 
Siba said:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/gigabyte-mini-itx-gtx970-oc,27915.html

Short PCB GTX 970 is announced
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Hallelujah, and thanks for the heads-up Siba! :)

Kinda wish it was enclosed a little more, like the Sapphire 285 ITX (and ASUS/MSI 760) and had a nice backplate (like the MSI, which I would pay a few bucks extra for), but I'll take what I can get. Very surprised it was Gigabyte to be first to make an ITX 970.. MSI & ASUS would be very stupid not to announce their own within the next couple days.
 
Hanakuso said:
Anyone here use the Asus Impact and use the front audio ports? I just used mine last night and it seems to give off really bad quality audio.
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Nope, front panel audio is perfect. I actually use the front audio for my headphones because the rear output doesn't support the "amplify level" option and it isn't loud enough with my headphones. The front panel mic input on the Impact VI is horrible though, I plug my mic in the rear input.
 
FYI. I first mentioned it here and was asked by Phuncz to update the Maximus VII Impact forum. Did that, so now I'm closing the loop and letting this forum know:

I decided to put the crappy stock cooler on my i7-4970K and try installing Windows on my M7I's Plextor 256 GB M6e PCIe x2 SSD with everything just connected on my desk.

First, I updated the motherboard BIOS and then I updated the M6e firmware (bloody DOS bootable USB needed!). I had already downloaded the ISO file from Microsoft, so I followed the guide on Neowin to prepare an 8GB USB flash drive with the Windows 10 installation files. What can I say? It went very smoothly with no surprises. A couple of automatic reboots and a bit of patience were all that were needed.

In the BIOS (yeah, I know UEFI) Boot menu, the first boot device is now "Windows Boot Manager" and the second device is the Plextor M6e. Windows 10 boots nice and fast so I'll leave everything alone until I finish the build inside my Ncase M1.
 
Qrash said:
FYI. I first mentioned it here and was asked by Phuncz to update the Maximus VII Impact forum. Did that, so now I'm closing the loop and letting this forum know:

I decided to put the crappy stock cooler on my i7-4970K and try installing Windows on my M7I's Plextor 256 GB M6e PCIe x2 SSD with everything just connected on my desk.

First, I updated the motherboard BIOS and then I updated the M6e firmware (bloody DOS bootable USB needed!). I had already downloaded the ISO file from Microsoft, so I followed the guide on Neowin to prepare an 8GB USB flash drive with the Windows 10 installation files. What can I say? It went very smoothly with no surprises. A couple of automatic reboots and a bit of patience were all that were needed.

In the BIOS (yeah, I know UEFI) Boot menu, the first boot device is now "Windows Boot Manager" and the second device is the Plextor M6e. Windows 10 boots nice and fast so I'll leave everything alone until I finish the build inside my Ncase M1.
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Nice, thanks for the feedback. It's good to hear that the Plextor M2 is a viable option here.
 
I know not everyone here will want to install the Windows 10 Technical Preview, but I was curious to try. From what I've read online I think Windows 8.1 will install easily too. Not sure about Windows 8.0. I think the difficulty has been with installing Windows 7 onto PCIe M.2 SSD drives like the Plextor M6e and the Samsung XP941.
 
I just wanted to update to say that my 980 GTX SC from EVGA fits into this case perfectly. 45 c idle, 82ish maxed out, and that's if I push in an overclock. Playing BF4, I havent seen it hit over 75c after an hour of gaming.
 
Qrash said:
FYI. I first mentioned it here and was asked by Phuncz to update the Maximus VII Impact forum. Did that, so now I'm closing the loop and letting this forum know:

I decided to put the crappy stock cooler on my i7-4970K and try installing Windows on my M7I's Plextor 256 GB M6e PCIe x2 SSD with everything just connected on my desk.

First, I updated the motherboard BIOS and then I updated the M6e firmware (bloody DOS bootable USB needed!). I had already downloaded the ISO file from Microsoft, so I followed the guide on Neowin to prepare an 8GB USB flash drive with the Windows 10 installation files. What can I say? It went very smoothly with no surprises. A couple of automatic reboots and a bit of patience were all that were needed.

In the BIOS (yeah, I know UEFI) Boot menu, the first boot device is now "Windows Boot Manager" and the second device is the Plextor M6e. Windows 10 boots nice and fast so I'll leave everything alone until I finish the build inside my Ncase M1.
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How are the speeds on the SSD?

I've read some good things about Win10 tech preview, supposedly it is benchmarking higher in gaming than Windows 8.1, which is higher than Windows 7
 
Ok, so I've decided to do this with the fans:

- 2x fans on H75 radiator (push/pull) pulling air into the case
- 1x fan pulling air into the case and blowing into the SX600 (SX600 fan will be facing into the case)
- 1x fan on bottom of the case blowing up on the video card


I hope my case stays dust free. Should be fine with the filters I bought.

I was going to put two fans on the bottom, but couldn't figure out how to mount them. I only see one 120mm fan mount around the area where a GPU's fan would be on a 10.5" card w/ blower style cooler.
 
laststop311 said:
So I think a good noctua air cooler is actually quieter than a CLC due to pump noise being louder than quiet noctua fans. how does the noctua nh-u9b tower style fit? its 125mm tall 95mm wide and with both 92mm fans attached 120mm deep. 135mm is the max height correct? so the 125mm height of the 92mm fan tower cooler should be ok?

Then on the side where the 240mm radiator would normally go i can just put a 120mm fan towards the rear blowing cold air towards the tower cooler and then actually be able to fit the HDD bracket and put in 2x big WD red's. Then a gtx 980 with a 120mm fan on the bottom towards the front blowing cold air right into the intake fan of the 980 blower cooler and a 2.5" ssd on the bottom towards the rear where putting another fan would do nothing for the blower style. Then a 92mm fan on the back for the lone exhaust. All the fans will be the SSO2 noctua fans so its nice and quiet.

Does all this sound like it will fit? The 125mm height tower cooler with 92mm fans + the 92mm exhaust on the rear of case + 120mm intake towards the rear on the side blowing onto the tower cooler + HDD bracket towards the front on the side with 2x 3.5" HDD + gtx 980 reference style + 120mm fan on the bottom towards the front blowing into the gtx 980 blower fan and a 2.5" ssd on the bottom towards the rear under the rear part of the gpu thats totally enclosed since its a blower so no reason for a fan there.

well looking at the build above me if the 114mm height top down blowing noctua c12 cooler basically barely fits a fan on the side the 125mm height tower cooler probably isnt going to fit a 120mm fan on the side towards the rear so may have to forgo that. I'm a little worried there's going to be no fresh intake air reaching the cpu or the HDD's maybe just use 1 HDD and fit a fan behind it to blow some air on it and inside the case like the build above me. Any input from u guys?

Am I better off copying the guy above me with a top down c12 cooler since it will actually pull cool air directly over the cpu and the HDD will get cool air?
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I originally wanted to go with the U9B, and bought one to install into my case. In my experimentation with my cardboard case (ncase mockup as this was before the NCase was available), I worked out that the CPU temps and noise using the U9B were suboptimal. It was pretty noisy while trying to keep the undervolted CPU under 70-80 degrees (ambient 25-35). The B9 fans were quiet in free air, but agasint the heatsink, they would stall and airflow would fall considerably. It lacked sufficient static pressure for heatsink use.

I had a non-blower GPU and all the hot GPU air was being fed into the CPU. Even without loading the GPU, the CPU temps and accordingly, noise levels would not be described as silent while running prime.

I decided to go with a C14, and by pulling in fresh air, temps were HUGELY improved, noise was Significantly improved, because I could use my 120mm fans at lower rpms. GPU usage made almost no impact on CPU temps, and therefore permitted the happy use of a non-blower GPU.

Secondly, the U9B does not allow sufficient room to install any side fans in the rear position. Even a 12-15mm thick fan would be a struggle to fit. A 25mm fan you have no chance of fitting.

Based on my experiences with these coolers, I would advise against the U9B if your are after a totally silent system, and want better than average temps. Much better off going with a C design cooler, and the closer to the side panel, the better it is.

My C14 on an Z87eITX board does impinge on the front mounting area for HDDs though. (and the top panel too)
 
jcagara08 said:
Whoah this is some good news bud!
Can you post images of your setup?
I was thinking the GTX 980 reference and non reference cards would not fit, which one is yours?
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I think the PCB is reference regardless if it's the Titan cooler or ACX
 
Very surprised to see there's still ~2 dozen M1 cases still available at NCASES.com

Even more surprised that a couple of them are v1. Get 'em before they're all gone folks!
 
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Hanakuso said:
Anyone here use the Asus Impact and use the front audio ports? I just used mine last night and it seems to give off really bad quality audio.
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I´m using impact VI. Audio quality gets better after bios update and driver update. At least for me. Early versions of bios / drivers were causing audio noise
 
If I don't order the M1 this run, will they ever become available direct again? I'm not really acquainted with the nature of their availability.

I have no use for it right now but I think I'd want one in the future.
 
The cases can only be manufactured once there are enough orders to justify the costs of Lian Li spooling up a production line to produce them (the MOQ). Without several hundred orders, it isn't viable to produce a run.
With one run only just ended, and with fewer orders than the first run, it may be some time until enough people who don't already have an Ncase (or want an extra one) have accumulated and another run is viable.

tl;dr if you want one, get one while they're available. There's no guarantee there will be more produced in the near future.
 
TFTI. I assume there are provisions/agreements preventing Lian-Li from copying the design and mass-producing it themselves?
 
friend'scatdied said:
If I don't order the M1 this run, will they ever become available direct again? I'm not really acquainted with the nature of their availability.

I have no use for it right now but I think I'd want one in the future.
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nurban512 said:
I am equally curious about this.
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EdZ said:
The cases can only be manufactured once there are enough orders to justify the costs of Lian Li spooling up a production line to produce them (the MOQ). Without several hundred orders, it isn't viable to produce a run.
With one run only just ended, and with fewer orders than the first run, it may be some time until enough people who don't already have an Ncase (or want an extra one) have accumulated and another run is viable.

tl;dr if you want one, get one while they're available. There's no guarantee there will be more produced in the near future.
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Actually... if you're not in the market right now, you will have an opportunity to pick one up again in the future. I can say that with 95% certainty.

friend'scatdied said:
TFTI. I assume there are provisions/agreements preventing Lian-Li from copying the design and mass-producing it themselves?
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In all likelihood, no, the M1 won't ever be sold as a Lian Li.
 
Actually... if you're not in the market right now, you will have an opportunity to pick one up again in the future. I can say that with 95% certainty.
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What makes you certain if you don't mind me asking?
 
Synomenon said:
Ok, so I've decided to do this with the fans:

- 2x fans on H75 radiator (push/pull) pulling air into the case
- 1x fan pulling air into the case and blowing into the SX600 (SX600 fan will be facing into the case)
- 1x fan on bottom of the case blowing up on the video card


I hope my case stays dust free. Should be fine with the filters I bought.

I was going to put two fans on the bottom, but couldn't figure out how to mount them. I only see one 120mm fan mount around the area where a GPU's fan would be on a 10.5" card w/ blower style cooler.
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Googled and searched this forum, but don't see how to mount two fans on the bottom of the v2.

Anyone have pics. or instructions on this?
 
Synomenon said:
Googled and searched this forum, but don't see how to mount two fans on the bottom of the v2.

Anyone have pics. or instructions on this?
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cba to open my case, but from the prototype pictures, looks like these are 120mm apart (marked in red).

bpWEljJ.jpg


Is this right, Necere?
 
WiSK said:
cba to open my case, but from the prototype pictures, looks like these are 120mm apart (marked in red).
[/IMG]

Is this right, Necere?
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That's the original prototype so things are a little different, but yeah, that's where the slots are.
 
Handy picture!

Any chance, if you do a 3rd run, to include that picture and the picture of the screws on a sheet of A4 and include it in the box?
 
AFD said:
Dunno? I used a screwdriver with several different sized philips bit adapters, and none of them seemed to work too well without skipping and marring up the screw heads.

I'd really like to replace them all with stainless hex screws at some point (a couple guys did that a long while back here and here).
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Thank you for your help AFD, I decided to try a few different sized drivers and found a driver which I initially was not even thinking about using due to its very large size was able to remove the screws without stripping any.

Are all of the remaining M1s going to be shipped after all have been ordered or are there going to be several smaller quantity shipments?
 
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